#Chapter 160 – Sisters

“What,” I say, my mouth hanging open as I stare between these two women – both incredibly important people in my life, but people I thought lived in completely separate worlds. “How the hell –“

“Come in,” Emma says, getting to her feet. “Let’s close the door,” she murmurs, peering outside to see if anyone has seen them.

Ian and I obligingly coming into the room, Delia closing the door after us.

“Hi Delia! Hi Auntie!” Ian says, smiling at them. “I didn’t know you two knew each other.”

“Yes,” I say, starting to get over my shock and feeling a little angry. “Would anyone like to explain this amazing coincidence?”

Delia sits down on the other bed and pats the comforter. “Come sit down, both of you,” she says, giving me an apologetic smile. “We have a lot to catch you up on.”

I do sit down next to Delia, angling myself so that I can look between her and my sister. Ian goes over to Emma, his hands wrapped around the straps of his backpack. “Can I sit with you?” he asks, beaming up at her.

“Of course,” she says, smiling at him. “Make yourself comfortable, baby.”

He does as he’s told, climbing up onto her bed and unzipping his backpack to take out some toy trucks. I watch him, knowing that he’ll pretend to play but that really he’ll be listening the whole time. I don’t begrudge him the knowledge, though – after all, he’s my co-conspirator now.

Seeing that my son is comfortable, I turn to stare at Delia – my best friend, whom I shared all of my secrets with in graduate school –

“How do you two know each other?” I ask, directing the question to her. In some ways, she has become closer to me than my sister in the past few years – closer than my own flesh and blood.

Delia shrugs and then says, quite simply, “I’ve known Emma since we were twelve. We went to tennis camp together every summer.”

“What?!” My face must be ashen with shock.

I don’t know what I had expected – maybe that they’d met each other in the past few months or years? Maybe connected through knowledge of me, or of Victor’s scandal –

But never, in a million years, would I have expected to hear that Delia’s relationship with Emma predated our own.

at archery camp,” Emma said quietly. “It was the only part of our lives when we were really separate. It was nice to have

them, still shocked. “Then

I had done was unforgivable. Even though I knew that, I also knew that I couldn’t just have no idea where you were. So,

head at her, listening. I had been so careful, worked so hard to be untraceable. But Emma – despite all odds – had found

later. With

she remembered me saying, as a kid, that that was my dream job. Emma got back in touch with me – offered to pay my tuition, my room and board, and a small

at

the bed, Ian slowly

willing to lie or prevaricate. “Delia told me what she saw. But honestly, Evelyn – it was just for peace of mind, to know you were

head, holding my eye contact,

murmur, unhappy about this turn of events. It felt, in so

news I needed on today, of

her hands. “I wasn’t really surprised when you and Delia clicked – a little jealous, of course.” She pauses for a moment. “I would have given…anything. To be out of my house. Living that life with the two of you, pursuing your goals, working for something. With those two little boys.” She

had had its trials. And here was Emma, who for six years has been reading reports about how I had turned my life around and

I say,

her heart. “It was just for my own peace of mind. No one ever knew, and I never interfered. Even when I wanted to send money, Delia wouldn’t let me. She

them in the face for a minute. “I’m not happy about it,” I

“For believing us. It was a lie but…beyond that big glaring fact, it was innocent. An

to both of them seriously, crossing my

“Anything, Evelyn,” she says, hand

I say, grinning at them. “I’m cashing in now, then. You have to take me and Ian in for a couple of days. While

are you two doing here?” Delia says, frowning at me. She accepts without my complaint the idea that we

smile drops from my face a little bit. “It’s kind of a long story,” I say, grimacing.

for!” Delia says, jumping up and grabbing her keys off the table. “I’ll get some takeout on the

it up to Delia, and she skips out of the

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